Incensed, Hwan stormed his way into the cover of the forest.
Life sapping?
How easily those words had tumbled from her mouth!
Here he was, all prepared to confess the depth of his yearning to have her return to the Palace, that he could no longer endure a life without her, that he would find a way, and that, if needed, he would never have a Queen if that was the price he had to pay to have her by his side. Hwan had been ready to deal with the aftermath. Even if they were never to have sons, Hwan no longer cared about siring an heir; the nation was already abundant with Yi family descendants. When his reign's responsibilities were fulfilled, he would seek out a capable successor to sit on the throne.
He had been mustering courage and grappling with choosing the right words to say all that to her....
He never got a chance.
Because there she was, firmly putting him in place, in no uncertain terms.
She didn't want him enough, the Palace life even less. Her clenched eyes, rigid body, curled hands - her posture repelling him from every angle, screaming rejection - had charred his core. She might have forgiven him but would never change her mind about not wanting to be with him anymore. The stubborn mule!
The strange heaviness in his heart became a reflection of the wretched, gloomy skies, his chilly thoughts matching the frosty air around him.
A familiar, lanky figure was hurrying down the hill, a sword clutched by his side, his long strides making nothing of the slick undergrowth.
"Your Majesty!" Tae Kang bounded towards him, his anxious eyes searching for any damage.
"How are you here?"
"When you and Eunuch Go did not arrive outside the woods on time, I gathered something was wrong. So I rode in. I encountered a guard on the way. I have sent in for a trusted smaller troop of sentries who can discreetly remove the prisoners."
Hwan nodded in approval.
"How did you find the prisoners here? Were they fleeing?" Before Hwan could answer, a curious mixture of dismay and astonishment changed the lines of Tae Kan's facial muscles, his eyes settling at a point over Hwan's shoulders.
Hwan angled his head sideways, knowing precisely what, or rather which maddening person, provoked Tae Kang's peculiar expressions. Standing a few feet away, Jay Yi held his hat in her extended, freshly bandaged hands, her head bowed.
"Your Majesty, your hat," Jay Yi stated the obvious, her deferential posture belying her defiant one from minutes ago.
Hwan all but snatched the hat from her hand, still smarting from her earlier absurdity. How dare she bring up something as offensive as 'siring heirs'! He scowled at her with a 'tch tch'.
"Your Majesty, I -" she didn't complete. Her face altered from sheepish to worried. Spying Tae Kang, Jay Yi sprinted closer. "How are Master Mun and Ga-ram?"
"I led them out safely. They must almost be at Manyeodang by now."
Jay Yi's face broke into a relieved smile.
"But - what happened to you, Eunuch Go?!" Tae Kang exclaimed. "You look terrible!"
Two very cross brows furrowed over Jay Yi's two very cross eyes.
She glared at Tae Kang. "I know, you don't have to hammer it in," she said as she self-consciously tucked a bunch of wayward strands behind her ears and dragged the head skirt closer around her throat, throwing a side glance from under her eyes at Hwan. An enflamed flush crept up her cheeks as she looked down unhappily.
Tae Kang's worried voice and Jay Yi's upset tone made Hwan look over at Jay Yi. She did look like a fright at the first glance. Dark spots sporadically stained her dirt-covered clothes that had a tear at the bottom, a piece of torn fabric trailing the skirt, both hands bandaged, the ostentatiously large blue hair accessories jarring against her tousled hair, whisps of silky strands springing out from a loose braid that was coming undone, a red hue coasting her translucent skin, long lashes creating inviting shadows on her cheeks, her lips swollen -
Hwan closed his eyes, swallowing. She looked edible.
When did I tempt you? Cursing himself silently, he turned to Tae Kang.
"She had to fight off two assassins and stop her from escaping," Hwan pointed to the girl propped up against a tree, her knees folded to her chest, bound with a rope some distance from them.
Shock transformed Tae Kang's face. "Assassins?" he squeaked. Looking around, Tae Kang spotted a man on a makeshift stretcher. He pointed at him questioningly, alarm writ all over him in bold letters.
"They must have already taken the other one up the hill," Hwan answered him.
"How many were there, Your Majesty?" Tae Kang asked in tortured bafflement.
"There were seven," Jay Yi interrupted. "Two came after me, and five attacked His Majesty."
A look akin to fear fleetingly overpowered Tae Kang's large eyes. "Seven! You were attacked, Your Majesty?!"
Before Hwan could open his mouth, Jay Yi pounced. "What kind of bodyguards arrive after everything is over? What type of training are you giving them? You and that useless bunch of yours have one job, and you cannot do that properly!"
Crestfallen, Tae Kang gawked at her and turned to Hwan for help. Hwan almost chuckled at his ever-warrior woman, though he carefully kept his humour to himself. For once, he could not disagree with her. A slight misstep could have meant the end for both.
With no assistance forthcoming from Hwan, Tae Kang cleared his throat and finally murmured, "I apologise, Your Majesty, for the inadequacy today. I will see to it right away that we tighten the shortcomings."
He bowed to Hwan and, as he had been curiously doing lately, extended a respectful bow to Jay Yi.
Still unaccustomed to receiving such an honour from Tae Kang, Jay Yi returned the gesture to both of them before she started walking towards where the girl sat.
"Where are you going?" Hwan burst out.
"I want my ribbon back, Your Majesty," Jay Yi said simply. She walked over to a point some distance away and picked up a piece of rope before making her way to the girl.
Hwan looked at her retreating back, and an involuntary smile curved his lips. "Kanga, be thankful she is not your commander."
Turning to him, Hwan stated in a tone that had sent necks to the executioner's block. "I do not want a repeat of what happened today. Ever."
Crouching, the girl watched Jay Yi approach her sullenly. Coiling the rope loosely, Jay Yi hung it by her wrist. She walked around a stump and over a fallen limb of a tree, sank to her hunches by the girl and then eased herself onto a small, moss-covered rock. Jay Yi dropped the rope beside her.
The girl twisted her head to the other side.
"What will you do to me now?" She asked acerbically, but her tone was laced with fear.
"You killed innocent babies. Is your heart carved from stone? There must be a special punishment beyond the gates of hell for people like you."
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"Those children had no future! You are all fools!"
Jay Yi opened the knot of her ribbon around the girl's feet. "How do you know?"
"I can see their future! It was all dark." She turned her furious gaze to Jay Yi. "I could see nothing."
Without replying, Jay Yi unwounded the ribbon from her ankles. Jay Yi had peeled away the girls' boots when she had tied the ribbon to secure them tighter. It was frigid to be out without shoes. Jay Yi felt a twinge of compassion.
"Do your toes hurt?" Jay Yo asked kindly.
The girl looked away.
Sighing, Jay Yi spotted the boots lying by the large boulder where she had taken the girl down.
Three guards were preparing to carry the injured man on the stretcher up the hill.
"Can you please get her boots here?" Jay Yi called out to them.
One of the guards dropped the shoes to her, bowing respectfully before turning away, leaving them alone.
"You could only see darkness in their future because you had already decided to kill them," Jay Yi looked the girl in the eye.
The woman looked back spitefully at her.
Revulsion swamped Jay Yi's body. "You tried to kill us both. You have a trained team of assassins travelling with you. Coming after me, thinking I was a helpless woman, wasn't smart. Fortunately, your plan to harm His Majesty was thwarted. If you had succeeded, the entire country would have been in peril. Do you not understand that?"
The girl's eyes travelled to Hwan; Jay Yi followed her gaze. He was conversing with two guards and Tae Kang. Jay Yi had a distinct feeling that, though he seemed busy, he was watching them closely.
Hatred twisted the girl/woman's features. "If given a chance, I would still do it. Even though I knew I might not escape or kill you both, I still hoped I was wrong."
The coldness in the woman's voice sent fissures of dread through Jay Yi's blood. She leaned back and uncoiled the rope. "What you just said is treason and is enough to execute you."
She let that sink in. The woman went ashen.
"You claim a lot of things you cannot prove. Your so-called visions are quite limited for someone claiming to be a fortune teller. You need to stop trying to fool people and accept you are a cold-blooded murderer of babies."
Hoarse with rage, the woman spat, "You are the fool here. I AM a good shaman. I can see unborn children; I can see them into the future. When I see a man with the woman, I can tell if he is the father. I saw you, him, your children...."
This was possibly one of the reasons she asked the women to come with their husbands. She truly believed in her outlandish powers. This woman was a lunatic.
"You do not need to convince me, I am not interested," Jay Yi retorted.
A look of displeasure clouded the shaman's features, mouth downturned into an ugly curve, brows knitted. "Your son from that man.......I saw a figure wearing a red drape with dragons on it on a horse - I have never seen anything like it before."
Jay Yi almost dropped the rope. "What?"
The woman shrugged, uninterested. "Not that it matters, but now that I know that man is the King of Joseon, the vision makes sense. I wished I could have proven my premonition wrong."
A discordant chorus of twittering birds shattered the silence that followed.
Picking at the threads of the rope in her hands, her thumb and forefinger rolling the coarse texture absentmindedly, Jay Yi tried to absorb the woman's words. "Even if I were to suppose for a moment what you 'saw' was true, His Majesty is not yet married, and I lack the qualifications to become his wife. Moreover, I do not intend to marry anyone. Hence, I cannot have children. So, your visions are false. Your arrogance makes you see what you want to see. You fed the evil in you for too long."
The woman sat up straight, thrashing against the bound ropes, her head arrowed towards Jay Yi, her eyes beads of venom.
"Oh, I know what I saw; it's him all right! No one, not even HIM can take away my powers." The woman replied scornfully, her features contorting into an unpleasant smile. "I forgot we have an unmarried King. But then, who said you needed to be married to bring those ugly things into this world?" A guttural sound escaped her throat. "You are not fit to be even a Concubine, then? For a noblewoman, your fall from grace is remarkable." A malicious gleam alighted her demonic eyes. "What are you? His toy? He must really like to play with you. You will give him many bastards."
Jay Yi's hand lashed out and struck the woman's cheek with a resounding clap, throwing her head sideways. "You wretched woman! How dare you mention His Majesty with your dirty mouth?" Jay Yi was shaking.
The woman's answering laugh curdled Jay Yi's blood. Malevolence. The thought ricocheted in Jay Yi's mind.
"Do you think people are blind?" A nasty smile twisted the woman’s lips. "Everyone noticed how your precious Majesty took you behind those trees. You are already a fallen woman. How do a few bastard children matter? Look at you! Despite all your talents, you are still useless. So, you should be thankful for my visions, they give you something to look forward to in your sad life. Those spawns of evil will only increase your value. How pathetic!"
Hwan's deadly, quiet voice floated from somewhere high up behind Jay Yi. "Say another word, and I will separate your head from your body without another thought."
Pale, Jay Yi watched the guards dragging away the writhing woman. She looked at the ribbon at her feet, coiled. It reminded her of a snake. Repulsed, she moved away from it.
Rage shook Hwan's body just at the thought of those venomous words Jay Yi had to endure. It had taken everything he had to stop himself from striking down the woman dead. Agonising claws of pain raked at Hwan's insides, making him ache as he watched Jay Yi grapple with the words that must have felt like melted iron to her ears. Anguish and revulsion clouded her lovely expressive face.
He gestured for Tae Kang to leave them alone.
"Jay Yi..."
Jay Y swallowed. She had never considered that her proximity as a woman could cast aspersions on Hwan. Heartsickness clouded her brain.
"Your Majesty, you cannot be seen with me anymore. You cannot sully your reputation like this," Jay Yi all but begged.
"Shhh!" Hwan reached for her shoulders, but she stepped back, shaking her head.
"People must speak of you badly behind your back, Your Majesty. I never thought...you have to put a stop to it. You must forsake me."
She turned, but Hwan grabbed her and drew her to him this time. Her molten eyes were pools of distress, shining with unshed tears.
"You cannot let that disgusting woman ruin your mind, Jay Yi!"
A massive tree trunk concealed them from the prying eyes of everyone around them. Hwan pulled Jay Yi in, enveloping her in the protective circle of his arms, giving her the haven she needed. Her shoulders slumped, the sanctuary of his arms and the refuge of his solid chest undoing the last of her defences. Sobs wracked her body as the overwhelming events of the day finally hit home, leaving her spent.
He patted her back soothingly. "I am sorry. I will have that woman's tongue for uttering those foul words to you. Don't cry, please don't cry."
"D-do you th-think I care afou-sic-about wat she said about me?" Jay Yi hiccupped, her voice muffled, her face burrowed in the tiny little wrinkles of his tunic fisted in her hands.
"You don't?"
Jay Yi shook her head.
"Y-you think it's the first time I heard this kind of a n-nonsense? It does not bother me. But I cannot let the flames of disrepute touch you, Your Majesty!" A desperate sob wrecked her small frame.
"Shh, you are not listening. Nothing will happen to me. You must trust me on this."
"Your guards know about me; they might not s-say it, but they might think it. I will not allow myself to be a blot on you."
He suddenly had an urge to laugh.
"Do you know how terrified they are of you?"
Jay Yi blinked, confused.
"Why would that be?"
"Because they have never encountered someone like you. I have never met someone like you..." he said huskily.
"You cannot be sure of that...it cannot be. You don't understand, your enemies will come after you if they find out. Please....you cannot be with me..."
His hands moved to her neck and shoulders, his thumb and fingers making soothing, de-stressing circles, kneading her tensed muscles, willing away the dreadful pressure he could feel coiling her whole body.
"Jay Yi, the day has not even seen the sun go down, and I have already watched an extraordinary woman put a lecher in his place, forsake her own modesty to save lives, defeat assassins single-handedly, and then," he paused, chuckling, "also find time to lecture her King to find a Queen. She is the bravest, the most honourable person I know. She made me laugh, proud, angry, protective, protected - this very moment, there is no one else in Joseon I would rather be with, you fool!" He dragged her to him, encircling her. His hands tightened around her, enfolding her tiny frame within his large one.
Eventually, she calmed down enough. "I wet your tunic," her inane observation made him smile. Hwan held her chin, lifting it. Her eyes were red, cheeks still damp. Her large, tumultuous eyes lifted to meet his grave ones. He touched her forehead with his lips softly and gently brushed away at a wet cheek with his thumb.
"Still, I do not want to be seen by your side dressed as a woman again, Your Majesty. Please, it's a request you cannot ignore. You -"
She didn't get to finish. Hwan covered her lips. The fabric around his chest tightened as Jay Yi clung to it. Her fragrant salt and sweet taste sent shivers of craving to every part of his body. He coaxed, pulled, drew a hot tongue across her lips, urging her to part them, and then demanded it. He felt her give in to his urgent probes, meeting him halfway as her passion deepened. Her sweet and eager response sent sparks exploding through his insanely aroused body. He wanted her so much that it was now a soul-crushing physical ache. He wished every barrier between them was gone, to feel her merging into him. His fingers pressed on her spine and then travelled down to mould her against him, lifting her. Jay Yi felt a white-hot need radiate through her as her mind registered the undeniable sign of his desire for her, her soft woman's body reacting viscerally to his rock-hard one. This inexplicable need frightened her. She must stop. She stiffened, suddenly pushing at him. In his passion-drugged mind, he realised he was perhaps frightening her, the very thing he had promised himself never to do. Hwan dragged his mouth from her and drew a shaky breath. Her forehead rested on his chest, her heaving gasps of air equally erratic as she fought to overcome the languid weakness that threatened to sink her. He rested his chin on the top of her head with the large blue flower clipped on the top abrading his chin, forcing his mind to control his tremoring body.
"You do talk too much. I will do what my heart tells me to; you do not dictate it," he whispered hoarsely.
Jay Yi shook her head. "You will do what befits your station, Your Majesty, because it is the right thing to do. I will not have it any other way."
Somewhere in the deep recess of her treacherous heart, she knew she was lying.
She knew she would still wait for him.